Making A Sword
by DetectiveSky612
Summary: **COMPLETE STORY** When the Starclimber Jack (You can find him in Dimension Travellers) of the past finds himself in need of a weapon, he lands the Starclimber to make himself a new one at the best place he could find. Except, he might have to stay longer than expected... SI. Friendships between OCs and RWBY. Enjoy and review, please!
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

Jack sat, spinning in the Starclimber's command chair, as the Time Rotor vworrped behind him. He had lent the Rift Blade to Link to set up that predestination event, leaving him without a sword - for now.

 _Let it never be said that Jack Grayson would make do with a normal weapon,_ Jack thought, smirking. _The only problem is where to get an abnormal weapon._ Jack looked back to the Dragunov, AK-47, M16 and SPAS-12 on the Starclimber's small weapon rack, and had an idea.

 _I performed reasonably well with a hand-and-a-half sword like the Rift Blade, so that part can stay. The biggest problem here is the lack of a workshop._

And so, Jack checked his dimensional coordinates.

 _Hmm... High levels of magic and technology... High percentage of weapons dealers... High percentage total of abnormal or anachronistic weaponry... It's perfect._

-/|\\-

The early morning was silent as Ozpin checked over Beacon's list of applicants. He studied the one on the top of the sheaf of papers with great curiosity, and more than a little amusement. The young man described in the application form was from a long line of Hunters, yet the traits seen on the form were almost too good to be true, and incredible in a few places. Ozpin sighed, and sipped his coffee. He stamped the form with the Headmaster's Seal of Acceptance and continued to the next form...

Or, at least, he would have, had a bright flash, loud mechanical ripping noise, and a small aircraft not appeared right outside his window.

The small black box streaked past the tower, and with a sputtering noise and a lurch, lost power right as it neared the boundary of the Emerald Forest, sliding to a halt right on top of the launch pads, both wings snapping off of their downward-pointing mounts and the landing gear folding backwards with a metal scream.

Now standing right up at his office window, Ozpin could see a small figure walk out of a hatch on the rear of the box, between two large, intermittently lit cannon-type structures, about a stable as the box's *graceful* landing.

Keeping an eye on the newcomer, he reached for the intercom on his desk.

"Professor Goodwitch?"

A voice sounded from the other end, clearly groggy. "It's 3 a.m., Headmaster. What is it?"

"Did we remember to deactivate the launch pads following last semester's graduation exam?"

A metallic groan followed, and Ozpin could faintly hear a boy shouting.

"... Never mind that, Glynda. Sorry for waking you up," Ozpin said, deactivating the intercom.

This year at Beacon was going to be interesting...

-/|\\-

Jack woke up on the cold stone bench he'd laid down on, regretting his decision to land and have a look around. Seriously, if it had been just a few metres off on either side the combined centre-of-gravity of the ship and him would have resulted in both parties staying together.

Although, given that, the universe had insisted on messing with him.

He sat up as dawn broke, folding his arms and shivering slightly as he took in his surroundings, in full daylight, for the first time.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" A calm, yet stern voice asked from behind him.

Jack was distracted from his thoughts as he turned around, making sure his snot hadn't formed icicles or anything.

"I'm... trying to find... my ship... make a sword... and go... but first, warm up... Jack Grayson, by the way," he said, looking up at the voice.

The owner of the voice, a blonde woman in white with a skirt and riding crop at her waist, looked down with emerald-green eyes, at Jack sitting on the bench, at his hand, which he had just extended, and back at Jack, her expression softening a little.

"All right, Jack, follow me, then," she said, beckoning him to follow.

Jack stood up somewhat shakily, and followed Glynda inside, revelling in the warmth of a confined space in direct sunlight.

"Since you might not have heard," Jack said, "I'm stuck here for the time being since my ship crashed. Where are we?"

"Firstly, I heard plenty of your small rant. Who's this 'Terminus'?"

"No one of consequence..." Jack said, his eyes widening as he backed away from Glynda a bit, slowing down.

"Secondly, you are walking through the halls of Beacon Academy, a prestigious school for Hunters and Huntresses."

"Hunters?"

Glynda sighed as she turned a corner, walking towards what Jack guessed was a stairwell up a tower. "My, you're lost, aren't you? Hunters defend humanity - that term including both normal humans and faunus - against the Grimm. Anyone who's even been here - 'here' being Remnant, that is - knows that."

"... Grimm?"

Glynda let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her eyes. "I'm not even going to begin answering that so I don't drown myself in branch questions. Just talk to Ozpin about it." The indicated the aforementioned man's office door, then leaned up against one wall, closing her eyes.

Jack took the hint and stepped inside, taking in the spacious room around him.

Either decorated to look like the inside of a clock tower or actually built inside of a clock tower, the office's walls were painted in green. A silver-haired man in a green suit, drinking a cup of coffee, sat at a wooden desk, a small built-in monitor displaying security footage of last night's crash.

"So you're the marooned sailor I heard so much of last night. Who is 'Terminus', as you put it? No one of consequence, I understand?"

"In this conversation? Yes. How did you hear me and Glynda?"

"Very little happens in Beacon without me knowing, Mr. Grayson. Please, sit down," the man said, indicating a chair beside the desk which Jack sat down in.

"You must be Ozpin, then. Assuming you heard everything I told Glynda through some means magical or otherwise, you'll know why I'm here."

"Indeed I do. I'm afraid we might need to shuffle you around a bit to get you settled in here, though, as start-of-term is only a few days away."

"What do you mean?"

"As I've heard from a dear friend of mine, 'To each Hunter his own weapon'. And I do believe swords take a while to make, Mr. Grayson. Surely, you can't easily make the trek from the academy proper to your ship through a Grimm-infested forest?"

Jack looked up, and looked back to Ozpin. "You've got a point. Thanks, Mr. Ozpin."

"Although, many of the areas of Beacon might be off-limits, seeing as you're not a student."

A small *ping* sounded from Ozpin's desk. He tapped a few on-screen keys, and a window popped up, showing a full application form, complete with cover letter and everything.

"... I stand corrected," he said, looking up from the monitor, "Someone sent in an application form."

Jack made a mental note to thank the Starclimber, whose semi-sentience, paired with its futuristic technology, had let it count as technically a person, for having the awareness and foresight needed to send in an application to this Beacon Academy.

"Well, what do I do now?"

"Now," Ozpin started, holding the dramatic effect, "You would normally move in. However, since you appear to have little to no possessions with you, all that's left is to find your dormitory and get to know the building. The other students should move in in the next few days."

"Well, then, I'll be off, Mr. Ozpin."

"Considering your newfound status, that's 'Professor Ozpin'."

"Well, then, Professor Ozpin, I'm off."

And with that, Jack left to explore the school building, sonic screwdriver out and simultaneously scanning and hacking, searching for the best network hotspot open to his iPhone.


	2. Chapter 2: Initiation, Part I

Various new students at Beacon Academy had lined up along the edge of the ridge above the Emerald Forest. They had weapons out and ready, expressions determined, and minds resolved to complete their objective. Various people were lined up to Jack's left and right.

The girl in red and black carried a huge scythe, about as big as she was, and had a curious grip on it, as if it was a bolt-action rifle. Both she and the scythe were decorated with red paint or accessories, and the girl narrowed her eyes and smirked as she tightened her grip on the scythe.

The girl in white carried herself with dignity, holding her foil over to one side, and glancing disdainfully to the people on either side of her.

The girl in black glanced nervously to either side, but tightened her grip on the gun blade and ribbon she held.

The girl in yellow simply smirked, raising her fists.

The young man in yellow and white swung his sword around, a look of apprehension on his face.

The girl in pink seemed to buzz with energy, hefting a giant hammer.

The girl in red and gold merely took deep breaths with her weapons out, a calm smile on her face.

The young man in green checked over his pistols, but did nothing more.

Then there was Jack. He stood nervously at a pose similar to a soldier's, holding his sonic screwdriver up by his cheek for the world to see.

He didn't see who was on his right, as Ozpin, who had attended the event himself, had started talking.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

At this, Glynda Goodwitch, who was also present, piped up. "Now, I'm sure you have had rumours of the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion: Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

The girl in red and black started to complain at this, though Jack couldn't hear specifically if there were any word to the complaint.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin continued. "So it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Jack could now hear an audible scream of "WHAT?!" from the girl in red. Ozpin continued nonetheless.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy anything in your way, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene.

You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and we will grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir?" said the young man in white said.

"Good!" Ozpin said, not noticing the question in the slightest. "Now take your positions!"

"Uh, I have a question, sir," The young man in white said. "This "landing strategy" thing, what is it? You're, um, dropping us off or something?"

"No. You WILL be falling."

"Oh... I see, so did you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No, you will have to decide your own landing strategy."

"Then, what exactly IS a landing strateGY-"

Then, one by one and in rapid succession, the students were launched off without warning, starting with the young man in yellow and white. Jack tried to ready himself, but still failed as he was bodily thrown into the air by the launch pad, screaming.

"AERIAL FAITH PLATES SUUUUUUUUCK!"

* * *

Jack fell through the air, plummeting towards the forest. Thinking quickly, he buzzed his sonic screwdriver, and was greeted with a small explosion off to the north.

Jack's last words before landing were:

"SUGARHONEYICEDTEAAAA-!"

* * *

Jack spat out the dirt that went into his mouth, and looked around. Just woods, woods, and more woods. Great. He stood up, using his sonic screwdriver to scan for signs of life. A handful of signals appeared from the west and north. Jack twisted a setting ring on the screwdriver, and started to dowse the temple, which the wireless link with the Starclimber aided and said was only a kilometre and a half away. Jack turned to the north to set out-

"Oh, no..."

and looked right into a girl's face.

She wore a dark grey shirt with beige pants, and a blue sash, complimenting Jack's own hoodie. Her hair shone silver, an anachronism compared to her youthful appearance. Her eyes were sky-blue, reflecting the heavens above hidden by the treetops. On an ammo belt slung perpendicular to her sash were various different ammo clips, from ones marked "fire" to "lightning" to "gravity" to "ice" to "standard". She held an assault rifle similar to an AK-47, but with what looked like a lot more foldable and telescoping parts. She huffed at him, and eyed his weaponless hands with contempt.

"Ugh... The person I get partnered with is the one guy who doesn't have a weapon..." The girl sighed. "Well, let's get going," she said as she walked over to one side of the clearing.

"Umm... Sorry to interrupt on your misery, but north is that way." Jack pointed in a direction almost opposite from the way the girl was going. The girl looked back, then compared her direction to the Sun, then stuttered.

"You're right... But how?"

Jack simply smiled and twirled his Sonic Screwdriver. "This handy little RAM spike, flashlight, resonance generator and Sparrow Compass is an ACTUAL compass, too!"

The girl looked confused for a moment before giving in and smiling. "Alright... I can't pretend I don't find you the least bit funny." Her smile then turned slightly demonic. "But if you think for even ONE SECOND of leaving me to the Grimm, I'll be haunting you until you die. And when you die, I'll smack you straight to the seventh circle of Hell."

Jack snickered. "Alright, alright, don't leave you behind, I get it. The only problem is, I have no Aura, no Semblance, and nothing except a Sonic Screwdriver. Can I trust you to not set a Beowolf on me or something?"

"Agreed."

"I have a ship here somewhere, can you help me find it? There'll be weapons, ammo, and a map."

"Sure. As long as we actually survive, I'm all for it."

Jack turned to leave, then turned back. "We never swapped names. I'm Jack."

The girl smiled and hefted her assault rifle. "The name's Leara. Nice to meet you."

The two shook hands, and set off towards the Starclimber.

* * *

Hi there!

I've removed the last two chapters of this as my friend, Kintin23, has kindly pointed out that I have lots of continuity errors. So, I'll set out righting them now! Enjoy Jack's experiences in Initiation Day in the meantime! I'll probably spread this out over 2 or 3 chapters.


	3. Chapter 3: Initiation, Part II

Jack and Leara trekked through the forest, Jack navigating to the temple, Leara keeping watch for anything that could jump out at them. Jack broke the silence first.

"So why are you at Beacon?"

"Why else? To become a Huntress!"

"Why are you really here?"

Leara looked visibly bristly at the question. "Well, why are you here?"

"Me? I came here to make a new sword, but it's more turned into a rescue mission for my ship."

"You own an airship?"

"More like a spaceship, to be honest. Plus a time machine. Plus a dimension-hopper. So... Pretty much a nigh-impossible lump of metal I found in a forest in another dimension.

Leara thought hard about it, but couldn't quite grasp what he meant. It would probably be easier for him to just show it to her.

"So why are you here, Leara?"

"I'm here..." Leara paused. "I'm here to learn how to be a Huntress. Not for glory or anything, but for my family."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"My village is out in the wilds, out where the possibility of a Grimm attack is high, specialized Hunters aren't readily available, and we're too far out for the military to get here before the Grimm take at half of the town... and that's on a good day." Leara sighed. "Usually, I would just train myself on defence tactics and weaponry usage, but last year, the Grimm invaded again." She paused, nearly brought to tears. "That was the day... my family died." She paused, taking a deep breath. "My father and brother went out to defend the town from the Grimm, and never came back. My mother..." Another deep breath. "My mother was right behind me, running from the Beowolves that had taken the town square and the quarter we lived in. One minute she was behind me, the next... She was in the claws of some Beowolf."

Jack stopped, staring into space as he took in the gravity of what he'd heard. He turned around and hugged Leara, patting her on the back as she started to cry.

"There, there... We're going to be together for the next four years. You've got family here now." Leara smiled at this, but said nothing.

They stayed like that for about a minute, until a loud, pulsing buzz came from the sonic screwdriver.

"There's a platoon of about ten or twelve hostile entities headed this way. Aren't Grimm attracted to negativity...?" was Jack's first and only question. It being purely rhetorical, both parties knew the answer.

"Well..." was Leara's only answer.

"Yeah..." Jack smiled sheepishly.

As they started to hear foliage being beaten down, they turned in a random direction and started running for their lives.

 **(Encounter Theme: The Chase - Tartalo Music)**

"Wait, where's that music coming from?" Leara asked as she sprinted alongside Jack, blitzing through foliage.

"Don't worry about it! I set up the sonic screwdriver to play music off of my phone sometimes! Left!" Jack shouted as they crashed through the forest, and they darted in that direction. They pushed branches out of their way, trying to outrun the Grimm following them. Jack had his sonic screwdriver out and was navigating in a direction that _definitely_ wasn't north.

"Where the hell are we going?!" Leara shouted.

"The wreck of the Starclimber!"

They ran through the forest, the Grimm getting closer the entire time, and Leara taking potshots behind her every so often with her assault rifle. Jack said nothing, but panted as he sprinted through the forest.

Finally, with the Grimm hot on their tails, they burst from the forest into a clearing. It looked like a laser had been fired through the forest, and at the end of the ditch, there was a small black box with blue racing stripes sitting, mangled and damaged. Jack ran up to it, and started sonicing a door on the side of the box.

"The hell are you doing?!" Leara said, starting to panic as she mowed down Beowolves with rapid, yet precise shots.

"Saving our lives!" was Jack's reply.

As the Grimm closed in, Jack waved the sonic screwdriver in a figure-8, then from side-to-side in a linear fashion. A pair of M2 Brownings mounted above the door, which had until now been pointing down and inactive, pivoted up and started adding their _but-dut-dut_ dakka sound to Leara's _b_ _hat-chink-bhat-chink_. Jack pointed the sonic screwdriver down, then raised it up, in turn raising the access door in front of him. Jack ducked inside, pulled Leara in with him, and left her to gape at the cabin's side wings (which defied any and all laws of physics) on her own as the hatch slammed shut.

"That was close," he panted.

"... Yeah... Where are we?"

"You're on board the Starclimber, aboard which I entered this dimension and subsequently crashed. Grab whatever bullets you need, it's mostly rifle-caliber, but there are a few birdshot shells as well."

Leara turned to the small armoury, eyed the rifles with suspicion, then stowed a few incendiary Dragunov and M16 clips. Jack caught his breath, then grabbed an AK-47 off of the rack. They were discussing their tactics to get to the temple (aided by the Starclimber's GPS system) when a bang echoed through the ship and a dent appeared on the door. Jack raised the Sonic Screwdriver and scanned just outside the door.

"Leara...?"

"Yeah?"

"That's an Alpha Beowolf..."

"Uh-huh..."

"And it ripped the Brownings off the back of the ship."

"Well..."

"Royally," Jack finished, answering the unasked question.


	4. Chapter 4: Initiation, Part III

Of course, trying to stay stealthy when you're hiding from a Grimm is nigh impossible, considering how they sense fear.

So Jack wasn't exactly stealthy when he broke through the Starclimber's cockpit windshield and leapt through with Leara, while scared witless in the process.

Nor was he silent when blitzing through the forest towards the temple with her.

 **(Encounter Theme: Jiyuu no Daishou - Linked Horizon)**

Jack kept his AK-47 raised as Leara experimented with the incendiary Dragunov clips on some of the omega Beowolves. As they ran, the pair noticed the foliage thinning, until they burst out towards a set of temple ruins on the heels of two other pairs - The girl in red and black with the girl in white, and the girl in yellow with the girl in black.

"ALPHA BEOWOLF!" was all Leara could hope to say as the monster burst out from the trees. The two pairs turned and raised their weapons as the alpha roared, as Jack and Leara ran up to the other two pairs, Leara whipping around and raising her assault rifle as Jack grabbed a statuette of a white bishop chess piece.

"OPEN FIRE!" Leara shouted as she, the one in black and the one in red started shooting every bullet they had at the monster Grimm, the one in black with her gunblade and the one in red with a gun built into her scythe. It was peppered as Jack joined in with his AK-47, but still it did not fall. The girl in white started to leap around and slash at it with her foil, jumping off of thin air with the help of glyphs that appeared, seemingly at random. The girl in yellow leapt up towards the alpha and started punching it with her concussion gauntlets. The one in red started to fire more sporadically, and eventually stopped firing altogether and joined in the mêlée with her sniper-scythe. As the girl in black opted to get closer as well, Jack found it getting harder and harder to fire as more people crossed in front of the alpha Beowolf. Eventually, Leara stopped as well and flicked a hidden switch on the rifle, revealing and extending a bayonet and telescoping out into more of a staff than an assault rifle.

"Sorry, Jack," Leara said impishly to Jack's protests, "But I can't let them have all the fun!"

"Hey, don't leave me-!" was Jack's only retort as Leara raced into the fray.

What Jack saw next was somewhat confusing. The girl in red appeared more of a blur than a human, the girl in black seemed to duplicate randomly, the girl in white kept leaping off of the glyphs, interspersing the glyphs with the girl in red's scythe and the alpha Beowolf itself... Jack could hardly believe his eyes, even as Leara kept landing hits in impossible places, making impossible leaps of faith, and dodging every hit thrown at her.

Jack raised his AK-47 and started trying to hit the monster in a clear area (his marksmanship was complete crap, so he didn't really hit anywhere important), but was forced to stop shooting when five more people entered the arena: The young men in white and green, the girls in pink and gold, and a new competitor, surprisingly alone. The girl had long, golden blonde hair, woven back into a braid, and wore a grey shirt, white hoodie, and beige pants. She started going at the monster with a silver Dust Grenade Launcher, causing good-sized areas on the monster to light up with different elemental effects.

Jack saw no more, however, as he was bowled over by a second unfamiliar new arrival.

"JACK, YOU'RE OKAY! YOU HAD ME SO SCARED WHEN TERMINUS UP AND WARPED YOU TO WHO-THE-HELL-KNOWS-WHERE!"

At the sudden outburst, Jack refocused his eyes, seeing not only the black-haired, emerald-eyed girl in a black T-shirt and jeans hugging him half to death, but everyone in the clearing, Alpha Beowolf included, staring at him and the girl, bewildered.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're alive! And that we're back together!" The girl squealed.

"..." Jack merely sat with his mouth open as the girl hugged him.

The girl merely sighed, keeping Jack locked in the hug.

"Do I know you?"

… At least, until she got the message that Jack had no idea who she was.

She broke the hug, instead grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him.

"WHADDAYA MEAN, DO I KNOW YOU?! I'M YOUR FREAKING DRAGON PAL!"

The Beowolf, interested by the mix of emotions it could sense in the girl, took a single step towards her.

"One sec." was all the girl said as she turned around. She prompty leapt on to the Beowolf and clawed its eyes out with her… claws…

"Eww… Last time I do that…" the girl said, shaking Grimm blood off of her hands as the Alpha Beowolf whined in pain on the ground. She turned back to Jack, a more calm, subdued smile on her face. "Still don't recognize me? … Sheesh, I knew you were slow with math, but not so slow as to take this long to put two and two together." Wiping her hands on a vivid green handkerchief she kept in her back pocket, she bowed down in a hyperbolic gesture of greeting. "Marinza Mysheri, at your service."

The connection was instantly evident as Jack froze in comical position, a look of stunned enlightenment on his face.

"M... Marinza? You're here… at Beacon?"

"Is that what this place is called? Not the Forest of Memory or something?"

"I'll explain later. How the hell did you get here?"

"I summoned Terminus by hopping back and forth across the threshold of the house. He was SO pissed when he finally appeared... When I asked him to show me where you were, I didn't expect him to throw me across time and space like this. And when I got here, I realized I'd passed out for a while when everything seemed so bright and colourful all of a sudden. And when I saw I was in..." She indicated her whole body. "... THIS... Seriously, how do you guys manage to stay upright for extended period of time? It's unnatural!"

"Hold on. Doesn't Janus guard the door?"

"Yeah. But when he appeared, I asked if he could refer me to Terminus. So, no harm done!"

Jack remained silent, unsure what to say next. "Well, the blue sharpshooter is Leara, my partner. We're stuck together for the rest of our time here."

A glow and glittery eyes came into Marinza's already huge smile. "OH! Let me show you the guy who dragged me here!" She then literally flew off, with... her... wings... and plopped the blonde in the white hoodie in front of Jack.

"Ow! Will ye at least WARN ME tha next time ya do tha'?"

Clearly, the blonde was not accustomed to being dragged along (and slightly up) by a dragon, faunus or otherwise.

"Oh!" Marinza said. "Did I mention she's got a Scottish accent?"

"I SAID it's Rural Mistralian!"

"Riiight," Marinza said, "Scottish."

The blonde reared back (presumably to begin a shouting match with Marinza) but as she did so, she noticed Jack. "Oh... Hello there."

"Hi," Jack said, feeling somewhat awkward.

"So, you're Marinza's old pal?"

"Yup."

"What's it like having a dragon for a girlfriend?"

Jack jumped back in shock and indignation, blushing a deep crimson, sputtering as he tried to respond. "Wha- Pft- Euh- The relationship's more like we're - adopted siblings or something! Geez! What you're suggesting would be practically-"

"Name's Silver, by tha way. Silver Pierce." Silver extended her hand, which Jack shook.

"Jack. Jack Grayson. Pleased to meet you."

"So, if Marinza's not yer gal, maybe, erm, you're a bit... lonely on tha social front?"

"Well... Considering I've had to reshuffle companions every time I've switched worlds... Yeah."

"Wait, _what_?"

Leara walked up and joined the group. "Yeah, he's apparently been dimension-hopping for a while now. Also...? Everyone else has come and gone in the time we took to explain things thus far."

Jack stopped tapping buttons on his iPhone and looked up. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

Leara, Silver and Marinza all stared at Jack.

Leara spoke first. "What the hell are you doing now, Jack? The one with the sonic screwdriver I could understand, but this is just absurd."

"Just writing this down. A small diary, y'know?"

Leara sighed as Marinza and Silver took the last chess piece - a white bishop.

The four banded together to fend off any Grimm as they made their way back to the Beacon Cliffs, their spirits high and their chess pieces identical.

* * *

I've noticed that this is by far my most popular story on ... Wow. Thank you to everyone who made this what it is... It may not be too big, but it's a small victory to be approaching 100 views. So once again, thank you! Just... Don't be afraid to review, whether you're a guest on the site or have an account! I'd like to hear what you think about Making a Sword!


	5. Chapter 5: Teams, Dorms, and New Friends

The newcomers to Beacon Academy were gathered in the auditorium-slash-arena, under a sunny noon, chatting, Leara, Jack, Marinza and Silver among them. Ozpin stepped up to a microphone on the sparring platform, and the entire arena fell silent.

"I would first like to congratulate those of you who succeeded in your objective on Initiation Day. Good job, all of you." This short beginning from Ozpin was met with applause.

"Now, you may remember that we said you would be sorted into your team on Initiation Day, yet no formal announcement was made. This ambiguity ends today." Silence from the crowd this time.

"What does he mean?" Marinza whispered to Jack, who just shrugged.

"You are gathered here to discover which Hunter-In-Training team you will be assigned to. This team will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon, so try not to get into a fight with them. Teams will share a dorm, so you will have to figure out sleeping arrangements yourselves. The teams for this year's freshman class at beacon are as follows." The Aura meters above the ring started up and displayed two scrolling wheels, each labelled with the pairs that teamed up in the Emerald Forest. The wheels stopped on a pair of pairs.

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. You obtained the black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will be known as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester." The four young men Ozpin named walked up to the platform and lined up.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren. You obtained the white Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will be known as Team JNPR, led by... Jaune Arc." The four named walked up to the platform, also lining up.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. You four obtained the white Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will be known as Team RWBY, led by... Ruby Rose." The four girls stepped up to the platform and lined up.

Ozpin rattled off more names of various students, who lined up to take their places as Hunters-in-training.

"Last but not least, Jack Grayson, Leara Ternvers, Silver Pierce, and..." Ozpin paused, looking straight at Marinza. "... Marinza Mysheri. You four brought back the white Bishop pieces. Henceforth, you shall be known as Team MJSL **(A/N: Pronounced "Mage Soul")** , led by... Marinza Mysheri."

Jack, Leara and Silver looked to each other nervously as Marinza's face lit up.

"What?!" Silver said. "Marinza, A) a student now, and B) OUR TEAM LEADER?!"

"She's definitely a bit too... hyper for the job," Jack said as Marinza literally jumped for joy.

"Hey!" Marinza said, halting her celebration and looking over to Jack. "I'll have you know that the Mysheri line has spawned inspiration for many legends of draconic lore. Smaug, Firnen, Hookfang... The list goes on."

Jack leered back at Marinza. "That's not helping your case..."

"Well, if she's our leader, I'd better be the main line, then," Leara said, her face somewhere between joy at having a team and agony at their leader being somewhat hyper.

Regardless of how they felt at the appointment, MJSL lined up behind Team RWBY on the sparring platform.

"I must congratulate you, Miss Mysheri, on achieving leader status so soon in you Huntress training," Ozpin said. "Things are shaping up to be an interesting year..."

* * *

Later that day, Marinza had headed the expedition to explore MJSL's dorms. Silver and Leara lugged their bags into the dorm, and the team looked eagerly at their new home.

"Well, it certainly is... sparse," Silver said.

"Well, then, why don't we change that?" Leara suggested, smiling.

"ALRIGHT! Room makeovers, Part 1!" Marinza reinforced.

At least, until they saw that a corner of the room and one of the beds had already been partitioned with bullet holes and decorated with a map of some interdimensional tunnel system.

Jack, smiling and holding a still-smoking AK-47, sat on the bed he'd partitioned from the rest of the room, trying to locate where Remnant was in the tunnel system.

Everyone else's jaws hit the floor, and Jack merely smiled when Silver asked the unwanted question: "That's a cross-and-you-will-be-pranked-badly line, isn't it?"

"Why don't you try your luck and cross it?" Jack said, sticking various pins in the map of the tunnel system.

Silver examined the exact location of the line, then stepped back a pace.

"Alright, girls, huddle up!" Marinza shouted, and Silver and Leara joined her and discussed tactics to get back at Jack.

So when Jack got an anonymous text telling him that there was a book to pick up in the library, he was very much caught by surprise when his feet went into a pair of whipped cream pies, a third of which went straight into his face when he glared at Marinza.

"Wh... Pfft... PFFFFT... What...? Leara? But we're supposed to be partners!" Jack said as Leara hefted another whipped cream pie.

"Well, nobody ever said we had to work together PEACEFULLY..." Leara said, a malicious grin on her face.

"Oh, it's ON," Jack said, an overly optimistic smile plastered on. He removed one of his feet from the pies, picked up the oversized glob of whipped cream, and prepared to lob it into Leara's face when-

"Ummm... Am I interrupting anything?"

The girl in red with the scythe from initiation (One Ruby Rose, if Jack remembered correctly) had appeared at the dorm door, and as the door was open, had a clear view of what was going on inside.

Marinza, Silver and Leara all looked from each other, to the pies, to Ruby, to Jack, and back to each other. Jack, however, looked straight at Ruby as his pie fell off of his hand and onto his lap.

"No, not really," was Silver's reply.

"Okay, good!" Ruby's face lit up and she sped into the room, shaking the girls' hands as she passed.

"I'm Ruby! Leader of Team RWBY!"

She started towards Jack, but was held back by the girls as she held a foot over the line.

"Don't cross the line, Ruby," Marinza said, to a nod from Leara.

"Not unless you want to get pranked. And not the funny kind, but the prank kind," Silver said.

"Where is that- Rhhh- RUBY!" Ruby's partner, the girl in white, yelled as she saw a long red cape being used to keep Ruby from stepping across a line of bullet holes.

"Oh... Hello, Weiss..." Ruby said, waving.

"... Should I even ask...?"

"Oh, um, no."

"Well then... Team MJSL, is it? Weiss Schnee, of the Schnee Dust Company. A pleasure to meet you."

"I KNEW she was goin' ta be some sor' of a snobby aristocrat!" Silver said to her team, rolling the Rs in "aristocrat". "She even has the look down pat!"

Trying and failing to pretend she hadn't heard the rather blunt remark, Weiss looked over the rest of Team MJSL.

"If this looks like some sort of a harem scenario I hacked into the system to get to, it isn't," Jack deadpanned before Weiss even opened her mouth.

"Well, I never-" Weiss stuttered, blushing. "For someone such as I to even think about saying such a thing-"

"It's actually not the eighteen-plus-est thing that's been said in this team. Little Miss Blondie restraining Ruby over there," Jack pointed a thumb at Silver, "asked me what it was like having Marinza as a girlfriend, when our relationship is really more akin to adopted siblings. Extrapolate a bit and you get one open-bracket arabic-one close-bracket subtle accusation of incest-but-not-incest-'cuz-they're-adopted-siblings."

Weiss was shocked so speechless at such an open tone, she barely even responded to Jack's next few words.

"Jack Grayson, by the way. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'd get up to shake your hand but there's rather a lot of whipped cream soaking into my crotch, and if I get up in a normal manner I'd end up putting it all over the floor."

Weiss stood still for a bit, then fell backwards onto the floor, sighing as she fell.

"I think you broke her, Jack," Ruby said.

"Well, the world isn't really as clean-and-censored as Weiss would apparently like to believe. Well, Ruby, as my undies finally start to give way, I say HELLO, and bid you GOOD DAY. You are now in the presence of Team MJSL, consisting of me, Marinza, the one with the wings," Marinza waved with one hand as she held Ruby back by the cloak with the other.

"I'm actually a dragon from another dimension!" Marinza whispered-but-not-whispered. "I can hardly balance in an upright stance though," she said, adjusting her weight (i.e. stretching her wings backwards) to pull Ruby back from the line. "The one with the sash and ammo belt is Leara, Jack's partner." She leaned in to Ruby's ear. "... Have you seen her assault rifle? IT'S ALSO A NAGINATA."

As Ruby's face lit up, Leara pulled out her assault rifle, flicking a switch that telescoped the barrel and stock into more of a pole than a rifle, and the bayonet attached to the muzzle lengthened, becoming the primary blade of the staff. "The dragon speaks the truth, ma'am," she said, "And it can also fire in this mode. For long-range encounters, though," she said, flipping the toggle down to the -1 position, shortening the barrel to half its length, unfolding a small scope, and fully retracting the stock, "I use the sniper form."

As Ruby went into small epileptic fits concerning the weapon, Leara directed Ruby's attention to Silver. "And the one we haven't mentioned yet is Silver, our heavy."

As a response, Silver swung out her .50 Dust-compatible machine gun from behind her hoodie, hefting it for effect. "If there's something I can't kill in a good 5 minutes with this thing, chances are it won't die that easily."

Ruby, sensing pressure to reply, simply said, "Well, I'm Ruby, leader of Team RWBY. You've met Weiss, our fencer, but there's also Blake, our ninja, and Yang, my sister and our heavy. She uses a pair of concussion gauntlets."

As Ruby and MJSL continued to get acquainted, Weiss sat up in the doorway. Seeing the mess, weapons, and laughter, she decided she wasn't up to socializing just yet, and lay back down.


	6. Chapter 6: Weapon Plans

Well now, I've finally fixed enough timeline stuff to reach this point! I've updated the dialogue and events to match the stuff I changed, and if I _still_ manage to mess anything up, please let me know.

* * *

Jack checked his e-mail as he lay in Team MJSL's dorm at Beacon Academy after classes (Not that he expected any. He'd vanished from his world of origin, leaving any semblance of normalcy behind in the form of a small black dragon named "Marinza", who was now the Faunus leading his Hunter team.). The girls had gone out to window-shop, buy ammo, and get their hair done. His smartphone, successfully in the system due to Jack's familiarity with his sonic screwdriver, paired Beacon's network and special software programs with the variants preexisting on Jack's iPhone.

Nothing in his inbox. Not exactly a surprise, but still.

Although, it wasn't like he had anything to do, since he'd been reading up on the basics of "Aura" and "Semblances", two functions of this world, and he'd only just finished. He'd drafted a blueprint for his sword, too, and investigated the Emerald Forest to find the Starclimber since the whole chase during initiation.. This last venture ended in failure as he'd been chased off by Grimm, and Jack remembered the subtype name after some digging (Which was "Beowolves") - and so Jack would have to put the recovery of the spacecraft off to a later date.

But he digressed, and sat up on his bed, checking over the design of the sword via the blueprints that he'd drawn up with the help of Remnan software and Beacon's master weaponsmith, who had, in turn, referred him to Ruby, who had turned out to be a huge weapons geek, and very helpful, if the same age that Jack was.

The weapon was conceptually simple: A fairly wide-bladed katana with an assault rifle built-in. Although the idea of the weapon would be extremely weird on Earth, here on Remnant the concept of such a weapon was not only normal, but Jack's version was weird in the simplicity of the design.

The basic weapon base was just a sword, plain and simple. Except, there was a finger-hold and a lever on the hilt that not only added grip and a small guard, but if Jack exerted some effort on the lever, then something miraculous would happen.

The sabre would transform.

Not with the intensely complex arrays of servomotors considered normal in Remnant, but a few small spring-loaded arms that moved the blade up and out, revealing the lock and muzzle of an M16 (rotated to better fit and undergo use inside the blade), the data for which was provided by Jack's smartphone. A hidden lock would be undone behind the finger-hold, allowing Jack to fire the rifle, and the lever could always be pulled back to revert to sword mode. It was an almost-perfect design, but then again, as Jack said, perfection was nearly impossible, and so he'd settle for the current design, possibly with a few tweaks. As of the Mark I, the arms were vulnerable to swiping attacks while in rifle mode (as they were thin, few, and in a position where a slash parallel to the blade would slice them clean off) and the rifle part's magazine was unable to load while sword mode was active.

Jack looked the design over, and forwarded an image to Ruby.

 **[** How's this for Mark I? **]** **\- (1 Attachment)**

 **[** :O AWESOME! **]**

Jack smiled, and organized a date and time to crash-test different material combinations with Ruby - Steel, iron, titanium, wood, silver, gold... The list of materials was extensive.

Jack pondered the different types of metals he could use - wood was out of the question for this one, he wanted the sword to last - and the benefits and detriments he knew of each material, weighing them against Beowolf attacks and such.

Which led him to the inevitability of getting pounded by a Beowolf.

Although he'd never actually fought a Beowolf, he'd seen their taller height difference from his 5'6" and as such could imagine how strong they were. Jack also hadn't unlocked his aura, but there was something about his semblance he couldn't tell yet.

He sighed exasperatedly as he turned the problem of his aura and semblance over in his mind. He had no idea what his semblance was, and he hadn't unlocked his aura yet. To say he was weaker than most of the students at Beacon was an understatement.

Jack turned to the book about Semblances once more. He flipped through some detailed accounts and descriptions until he came to the last entry in the book.

Unlocking Aura: Discovering your Semblance

Aura, the physical manifest of one's soul, fuels one's Semblance and enables them to find out what it entails. Unlocking the manipulation and shielding of Aura usually requires a lot of training and work, but it can also be done by a specially-trained Aura adept, though a lot of stamina is required for the process.

Jack read this passage, then read it and read it again. A huge, awestruck smile grew on his face.

He could use his Aura.

And he knew exactly how to train for it.

* * *

Hello there! DetectiveSky here.

Just by looking at my stats, I can tell this little work is my most-read... Wow... And nearing 200 reads, too…

Anyway, if you want to see Beacon's effects on Torrent's adventures, head to Dimension Travellers (Also by me, I apologize for the weird crossover-sort stuff) and read up! The full story is now posted fully on , and I'm starting to write more of Moonfall!

Also, a little bit of a shoutout to Kintin23! If you're reading this, Kintin, then HELLO!

Anyway, that's all, folks!


	7. Chapter 7: Training and Semblance

Jack was wailing on a training dummy with a sword.

Not just any sword, mind you, but a training sword specifically calculated and calibrated to match the weight and size of the Mark I, the name of which Jack hadn't decided yet.

He stepped back, in a ready stance not unlike that of kendo, when he feigned parrying an attack and did a sizeable backflip ( _Thank God for Remnant's low gravity_ ), landing on his feet with the AK-47 out and ready. He laid down a half-aiming spray - which was more "point and shoot" than actual marksmanship - and filled the dummy with dents from the rubber rounds he was using.

As the gun started clicking as opposed to reporting, Jack stowed it via the shoulder strap and drew the training sword once more, heading back into close-quarters range and slashing at the dummy, which stood up for a few seconds before the head snapped back with a crack.

At this development, Jack stumbled as his blade swept through the air, as he had wound up and launched another attack before registering that the dummy was, for all intents and purposes, "dead".

Jack sheathed his sword and wiped the seat off his forehead, his muscles aching from the exertion. The benefits of 1vD training in a regimen like his was that he was getting used to lugging around more weight than just a regular sword (As he was carrying around the AK-47 as well), he was adjusting to his mobility in Remnant's significantly lower gravity (.88g, if the sonic screwdriver was correct), and he was practicing his riflery and swordsmanship.

Except, he knew he had definitely been worse with a sword the last time he'd used one on Earth. Jack put a hand to his chin as he mulled it over. He was sure that something had happened while in Hyrule-

"Hey there, Jack," said a familiar voice.

Ruby Rose walked into the PvD area, smiling, her sniper-scythe - Crescent Rose, Jack remembered - stowed at her belt.

"Oh! Hi, Ruby..." Jack attempted a smile back, utterly failing at looking casual, and subsequently blushed when he realized it.

"So... Are we going to test the stuff?"

"That's the plan. Did you bring the ultra-cool-looking sword parts?"

"Indeed I did!" Ruby held up a hockey bag, inside which a bunch of metal objects clattered as they were hefted.

Jack and Ruby matched grins, and opened up the bag. Once the cover flap was off, the full realization of what the bag held hit Jack.

Inside were three separate groups of blade cores, edges, and hilts, all made of every weapon material Jack could think of, and a few more he couldn't recognize.

"How much is in here?! There's gold, bronze, copper, iron, steel, silver, wood..."

"Don't forget tungsten and obsidian!"

"Wowza..."

"Yeah... It was a lot to lug up here..."

"Yikes. Doesn't Beacon have elevators?"

"There's two in Ozpin's office, but those are direct-service to the office wing and basement. Nothing for students."

"Aah. I see. Well... Let's get testing, shall we?"

"We shall!"

Jack picked a few sword parts from the bag, quickly assembling the first sword: Copper core, wooden hilt, and copper blade.

Turning to a fresh dummy, he wound up for a strike, then froze. He lowered his sword, and turned to Ruby.

"The sword won't hold up against the world for long if a small dummy is all I test it against," Jack said. "Do you have anything stronger?"

Ruby brought out her Scroll and tapped a few buttons onscreen, and a large, hulking robot was lowered from the ceiling via electromagnetic cranes. In short, it looked like a 15-foot-tall war machine.

"Ruby... What is that, and why is it in the school?"

"It's an Atlasian H15 M-II war mecha. Height 15 feet, a total of twelve different types of projectiles..." Ruby looked like she was about to run up and propose to the thing, she was so obsessive over it. "The military sent a chassis-only version to Beacon for weapons training. It's good for training against heavily-armoured opponents, like Giant Grimm or rogue Hunters... Usually, we wouldn't start like this, but seeing as you're already..." Ruby looked behind Jack at the "dead" dummy. "... there, Ozpin thought you'd want a bigger challenge. The armour's about 410 millimetres thick, so you probably won't get through it." Ruby paused at this. "But it'll be nice to see how your sword holds up!"

Jack adopted the same ready position he'd used against the dummy, then jumped forwards, his overpowered skeletomuscular structure launching him into the air. He lined up a slash at the right shoulder, swung his sword back as he sailed towards the mech, shouted a wordless battlecry...

... and was promptly taken by surprise when the robot raised an arm, forcing Jack to parry early, imparting nearly all of his momentum to the arm to prevent Beacon from gaining a new bloodstain.

"The hell?!" Jack shouted as he landed softly, skittering out of reach as the robot tried to stomp on him. "It moved!"

"Well, nobody ever said the robot was disabled," Ruby said, "Only disarmed."

"AND YOU CHOOSE TO MENTION THIS NOW?!"

Ruby smiled awkwardly, blushing. "Yeaaaah... Sorry about that... At least it wasn't programmed to pursue in training mode."

Jack noted this, and scanned the robot, before raising what used to be - and what Jack had thought to remain being - his sword.

Except, only a severed sliver of blade remained, the few shards of metal left sticking out at odd angles to the hilt. The rest of the ex-sword lay on the ground, snapped off when Jack had parried the bot's arm.

Jack and Ruby went through several more iterations of this practice, trying and failing to get the sword to hold up against the H15.

Except for the last sword.

One last blade, purely experimental, made up of tungsten, let Jack pull the first parry - and keep on fighting.

Jack smiled in wonder as he glanced at the sword, before rushing towards the bot with incredible speed, going through all of his practice in his mind, whether it be a standard parry, or something more crazy like a Great Spin, or even Wind Waker counterattacks.

Sparks flew as Jack dodged this way and that, his mind racing, processing his surroundings, until he was aware of something he hadn't noticed before. It wasn't around him, but rather, the little logic-puzzle lock that his homunculus couldn't break. It was as if he suddenly knew the answer, and suddenly, he felt power rushing through him, power he hadn't felt before.

He got even faster, breaking the sound barrier, as his innate, obscure knowledge fused with his new power and pushed his body beyond Mach 7. He ran circles around the H15, chording them to score hits on the mecha until the hydraulic legs gave out from a lucky hit and the bot fell on the ground. Jack removed his Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket, and sonic-caged the robot. Jack edged closer, then jumped crazy high as he felt new options for attack pop up, letting out a feral battlecry as he brought the sword straight down, through the torso armour of the mech, at a speed much higher than that obtainable by 8.6 m/s/s. The robot jerked and sparked as Jack leapt, catlike, off of the H15's chest, pocketing his Sonic Screwdriver as he winked at Ruby, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Looks like that H15's too TRIGGERED to trigger another fight sequence!" Jack said, with a note of certainty that broke most of the fourth wall, causing Ruby to laugh from the stupidity of the joke (even if she didn't get it), and which caused YOU _!_ to duck behind one of the small remnants of fourth wall, evading notice by Jack or Ruby.

WBY and MSL, however, started clapping as if they'd seen a most marvellous play, leaving Jack dumbstruck as to how he hadn't noticed them.

"Wa... Weh... Wah... What...?" Jack finally stuttered, breaking the deadlock. "How long were you here?"

"Since you started going toe-to-toe with the mech," Yang said.

"Yang texted us when you started going up against the mech," Leara said.

"We met outside and came in when you looked at that sword like you wanted to take it to the next level," Silver said. Jack's eyes widened as he processed this statement. "I bet you won't get that far with me when your sword's finally ready."

Marinza smiled. "I don't think I could've jumped that high, even with my wings to boost me."

"Well, I'm not used to so little gravity here. I guess that translates into semi-catlike reflexes," Jack replied. Turning back to Ruby, he discussed the details of the materials in the sword.

"I'm thinking probably katana-shaped like the blueprint says, with tungsten for the core and hilt, and high-carbon steel in the blade," he said. "The other stuff just didn't have the cutting edge the steel blade did. It left a scratch where none of the others did."

Yang and MSL turned to look, but turned away when they noticed precisely where it was. After all, looking at anything's crotch or equivalent area in the presence of others was just plain awkward.

"Okay, then," Ruby said, struggling to put the image of what remained of the robot's lower torso out of her mind, "Tungsten and steel. Good choice."

A simultaneous beep echoed through the room as everyone's scrolls pinged that they were late for class, signalling the end of the training session.

"Well, I'll forward the design to the master smith," Ruby said, "And I'll see you in the sparring arena once the sword's ready. Oh, and before I forget," she said, stopping Jack as he turned to leave, "Nice job finding your Semblance." Jack gasped as he realized what that statement meant, and made a mental note to return to his room to look it up in Semblance for Dummies' index before he passed out from excitement.

* * *

Hello there! So Jack has finally found his Semblance! I'll explain it, for the sake of meta and keeping you guys up-to-date on my ideas:

Jack's Semblance, which he will (in the future) nickname Copycat, lets him mimic the Semblances of anyone in his 360-degree line-of-sight that he's aware of, like copying Ruby's speed. This can also extend to universes, which explains and enables his performance with moves like the Great Spin and Ending Blow. Copycat can also adjust its capabilities based on how its limits are set, like how Jack reached Mach 7: He knew the speed limit for the Universe - and therefore Dash's absolute maximum speed - was point-9-recurring times c, increasing the percentage-potential he had. So if Copycat is fused with random physics trivia, it's like putting a blindfold on the God of Physics.

Copycat, as I mentioned before, is limited only to people the user is aware of, and the performance of the copied Semblance, when unmodified by the Physics blindfold, is directly related to how well the copied person can use their Semblance.

Oh, and as a timeline note, Making a Sword is currently in Volume 1.


	8. Chapter 8: Vytal Festival, Doubles Round

[Play Music: Clash of Swords - Tartalo Music, Enter the Realm]

Steel clashed against steel as Jack whirled around in a blade-barbed pinwheel, keeping his speed up to deliver rapid successive hits to his opponent.

The Vytal Festival tournament was in full swing, and this was Jack's last match with the Mark I.

Jack smiled a slightly-unhinged-by-adrenaline-y grin as Vella Moisia deflected his slashes with her bladed ballistic bow, before unfolding the M16 and firing a burst practiced to be quick yet precise, with the added bonus here of slowing his rotation down.

Vella backflipped behind a snowbank as she Graviglyphed her bow and palm, sending a hail of bullets at Jack. The trainee rolled to safety behind a pillar of ice, where he spared a glance around the arena as bullets pinged off of the crystal.

He could see Marinza still going head-to-head against Lycan Arcadia on the other side of the arena, jumping around the Forest biome with the Dragonfury Gauntlets while she sprayed bullets and fire-Dust flames everywhere. The Urban and Plateau biomes were, for now, empty.

Turning back to the fight, Jack whipped around the side of the pillar he hadn't ducked behind, raising the Mark I as he did so. He fired a few Lightning Dust shots to stun Vella before she looked to her left and saw that he'd outmanoeuvred her. Jack threw the Mark I into the air, then tapped into Copycat as he projected Graviglyphs from Vella to the Mark I.

Jack honestly enjoyed her look of confusion as Vella flew up into the air, before the Mark I came back down (after Jack had cancelled the glyphs) and Jack picked it up. Using the flat of the blade, he homerun-batted the Huntress before she hit the ground, scoring both an Aura-Depletion and Ring Out.

"And Vella is out of the match!" Professor Port announced as the Beacon crowd ran wild.

"Now that MJSL has an extra team member free to fight the same opponent, their chances of winning have increased exponentially!" Professor Oobleck followed up, talking much too fast for Jack to listen to in the heat of the match.

Jack lowered the Mark I before running to a second-story vantage point in the Urban biome, sliding up to a windowsill. He removed a small telescope from his pocket (mounting included) and slid it onto the Mark I's M16 mounting bracket, which was angled to the left to compensate for the sword blade being in the way. He put the muzzle out the window, looking down the scope as Marinza apparently dodged a couple slashes by flattening. The battle shifted out of the Forest and onto the Plateau, Marinza having done a Jedi-height backflip onto the rock shelf.

She backed towards the Glacier, more concerned with deflecting Lycan's gauntlets and getting some shots in than actually swinging her "talons" themselves.

Once Lycan stood still for a moment, Jack took a deep breath...

... and unloaded his clip in Lycan's general direction.

To his credit, the hunter-in-training managed to dodge the first few rounds, before taking multiple hits from splitting his focus between two fronts. Marinza then lifted the unlucky hunter up and threw him out of the arena, with a resounding "DING" proving they'd won the round.

Jack refolded the Mark I, lowering the blade as he smiled and straightened, looking around for the sake of looking for the first time since the start of the match.

"And Team MJSL has won the match!" Professor Port's voice boomed over the stadium.

"They will now select one team member from the two that fought to advance to the singles rounds!" Professor Oobleck continued.

* * *

Jack smiled and hugged Marinza as they left the stadium, to the cheers of the other half of their team. Silver and Leara cheered with the rest of their team for a while before Silver blitzed right up to Jack and snogged him right on the lips. Jack looked confused for a second, before starting to squirm. Leara and Marinza were laughing their heads off when Silver finally let go.

"Umm... Okay..." was all that Jack could say.

"Ohmdarnit, Jack, is that all you can say?" Silver asked, a small smile on her face.

"... Explanation, please?"

"You mean you haven't noticed?!" Marinza said between stifled snickers. "Ever since Forever Fall, she's had clear signs of a crush on you! Blushing whenever you talk to her... Increased uncomfortability in close proximity... naughty photos underneath her-"

"I think that's enough, Marin!" Silver finished all-too-quickly and -squeakily, elbowing the Faunus and team leader. She then proceeded to stare at her shoes. "So... Your Mark II is ready."

"Can we go see it?" Marinza pleaded to Jack, trying to pull her puppy-eyes trick on him.

"Alright, alright," Jack said, turning towards the arena exit. "I was planning to go pick it up around now anyway."

Marinza jumped for joy as Jack walked away, Leara followed him, glaring at Silver, and Silver took a few deep breaths before running after Jack, clearly wanting to catch up. Marinza skipped after her adoptive brother, humming the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker title theme to herself.

* * *

Cinder watched the security footage intently as Jack left for the Weaponsmithing Wing of the school, noting that what he could do in the future was going to change. The Hunter-in-training was clearly affiliated with the rogue Faunus, the lone survivor, and the tomboy. She set up a few more singles-rounds matches, placing the Hunter at an advantage up until he faced Mercury. He was clearly well-connected and morally-aligned to be friends with such a diverse group, and that meant he could know too much and destabilize her plans. He had to be dealt with in a way that wouldn't come back to bite her.

* * *

Jack held the Mark II aloft in a heroic stance, marvelling at its improved edge, slight serrations on the upper edge, and Damascus-weld between the tungsten and steel. The rifle form now folded out using magnets and a bit of mechashift, designed to stow the blade when the Mark II was in rifle form. The hilt also held a telescoping… well… scope in the guard that Jack could pop out and attach to the serrated bits with a few pins in the right spots.

Jack swung the blade around the forge a bit, revelling at the newly-cooled sword, before he turned back to his team leader and answered her question.

"No," he said.

"Aw, c'mon!" she whined, scrabbling at air as Silver and Leara held her back.

"Can't you give Jack two seconds with his new sword before trying to poke it?!" Leara said, holding Marinza's left shoulder.

"Only one person gets to touch my boyfriend's sword: Me!" Silver said, tugging at Marinza's right shoulder.

"Oh, so you're his boyfriend now?" Leara said. "Considering that I saved him from pulling a Jaune during the Breach and was the first person he met at Beacon, that title should go to me!"

"What she said!" Jack said, before recoiling. "Wait, _what?!_ "

"A romantic partner is someone you fight alongside at all costs in battle and in life!" Silver said. "Not deadpan at while they're fighting an Ursa alone in unfamiliar terrain like in Forever Fall!"

Jack considered the possibility of having a romantic interest on the team as Silver and Leara squabbled. It wouldn't be very fast or anything, but where Leara was more focussed on slaughtering demons, Silver was an extraordinary person. She made him laugh and shared his attitudes about a lot of things in life. Where Leara was just a friend, Silver was more than that. Plus, Jack had the nagging feeling that Marinza shipped him and Silver.

More doing than actually thinking, Jack tossed the Mark II to Marinza, and addressed the two other points in the forming love triangle.

"Leara… to be honest, while you're a good friend, you're nothing more than that. We can still be friends, but that's all our relationship will be. Just friends. And Silver… Don't get me wrong, I think you're funny, and I definitely like you, but we're just friends as of right now. Maybe in the future, this can evolve into something more, but we're not dating, per se. Not yet."

Leara sighed and smiled. "Just friends… to be honest, I can live with that."

Silver said nothing, yet blushed and scratched the back of her head.

Jack then retrieved the Mark II from Marinza, who was hugging the thing, and slid it into its new sheath, a leather-and-steel work of art.

"Oh, and Marinza?" Jack asked.

"Yes, alright, you can do the solo rounds. God knows you've been doing it more than I have."

He was going to have fun next round.


	9. Chapter 9: Finale

Jack eyed his opponent, Mercury Black, from the other side of the ring, weighing the Mark II in his hand. The counter beeped, signalling the start of the match.

The two young-adults rushed at each other, swords and reinforced legs clanging as they clashed. There were no special arenas in these finals rounds, instead favouring a straight one-on-one duel.

Jack deflected this strike and that, getting more and more weary, before eventually throwing caution to the wind to try and get a hit in.

Jack activated his Semblance, looking around the stadium, until his eyes settled on Yang Xiao Long, a friend of Silver's. He'd seen her Semblance before; it was a sort of Super Saiyan thing, and that was more or less what Jack needed.

Jack's hair exploded into cyan fire as he adopted a more agressive, two-handed stance. He put more power into his swings than he'd even thought to do on a normal two-hand strike, forcing his way past Mercury's guard and landing a couple hits. He lost track of his Aura, his strikes, and even his sense of time... On the attack, it all just blurred together.

* * *

Jack stepped away from Mercury, turning towards MJSL to wave at them.

Anyone who talked to Jack afterwards would hear him swear that Super Saiyan _was not_ his Semblance.

"And Jack Grayson has won the match again!" Professor Port boomed.

"He's played his cards well to have reserved his skills until now! Nobody will be able to know precisely what they're up against!" Professor Oobleck garbled.

Jack smiled and closed his eyes, scratching the back of his head and turning towards Mercury.

"Good game, mate. Maybe you'll win next time we spar," Jack said.

The Hunter-in-training opened his eyes when he heard Mercury's voice grind out, "There won't _be_ a next time!"

In a blurry response, Jack had his sword out and up in front of his body, held like a barrier. Mercury, much to Jack's astonishment, was flying (albeit in slo-mo from Jack's perspective) right towards him. Letting go of Copycat and Speed, he braced for impact and closed his eyes. Much to his confusion, nothing came. Opening one eye, Jack saw Mercury down on one knee in front of him, clearly waiting for something.

"Aw, c'mon, dude, I'm taken," Jack said, smiling as Mercury's face went from braced-for-impact to wait-what-just-happened. "Hallucination? That's a low blow."

Unbeknownst to Jack as he walked out of the arena, Cinder scowled in the stands as she shut her Scroll. The variable was more of a defensive player, that was for sure. In that case, his Semblance seemed... _mismatched_ was probably the best fit. She'd have to look into it later.

* * *

As MJSL reunited at the nearest ramen joint to celebrate Jack's victory, speculations on _what the hell was going on_ were traded around to the point where Mercury was involved in a school-wide conspiracy theory involving JNPR, Mercury, Yang Xiao Long, Ozpin, and the Shopkeep. They were all laughing when the power (and thus the lights) blipped. They all went immediately silent as they watched the electrical systems struggle to relight.

Jack dove into his thoughts, freezing when he heard screaming and came to the only possible conclusion. The Starclimber was right when it had said _imminent_. As in... _about a week until you do or die_ imminent. Distant rumbling could be heard in the distance as Bullheads dropped troops out into the school grounds and Amity Colosseum. Jack stood up from the table, throwing a pair of Lien cards onto the table.

"No," Jack said as Marinza stood up with him. "You've got to get to safety."

"Just tell me what's going on, then. I hate it when I charge into battle alone and with no clue what's going on."

"Major Historical Event was all I got. Just take Leara and Silver and _go!_ " Jack said, eyes watering.

Silver stood up from the table as well. "Jack..." She tugged the wanderer towards her and kissed him, straight on the lips, as she started to cry.

Jack smiled, a bottomless pit forming in his heart. "Don't consider this to be goodbye. It's not. Try..." Jack thought for a moment, a weak smile on his lips. "See you later."

Silver smiled a sad smile, hugging Jack one last time. "See you later, then."

Leara cocked her assault rifle as Marinza and Silver readied their weapons. Tears in her eyes, Silver watched Jack race towards the carnage, before cursing herself and breaking from the group.

* * *

(Play Music: Siege of Beacon - Ura Zelda OST, Zeth Battle)

Jack ran towards Beacon Tower, looking up briefly as a large airship flew by overhead. He reached Beacon's courtyard when he was confronted by an Atlesian Paladin mech. Jack smirked as he raised his sword. It was just like in the training room, except there'd be no restraint and Mark IIs of everything.

Jack started with a simple jumping lunge, but the mech raised its bracer to deflect it, which Jack followed-up from with a slice to the neck, which was stopped by a plasma blast from a pair of wrist cannons that the mech had deployed. He felt a huge hit to his Aura as he rolled to the ground. Wheezing as he got back up, Jack looked at the mech to see it stomp towards him, raising its cannons. Shying away as the robot audibly primed its cannons, Jack was surprised to hear the rhythmic _thud_ s of an aircraft-grade machine gun. Opening his eyes, he saw the mech trying to shift its focus and destroy the new threat. He scrambled back to a rock as Silver walked out of the darkness, pounding the Paladin with high explosive rounds.

"Nobody-kills-my-boyfriend-but-me!" Silver said, punctuating each word with a shot from DakBoomstick. After a few more seconds of barrage, the mecha fell over onto its side, and its lights went dark. Silver pulled Jack up from the ground with a hand, at which he smiled.

"Thanks for that. I'm not entirely sure whether to watch my back from now on, considering there's a qubit's chance you'll be my downfall."

"I'll just smile and pretend I understood that."

"Point taken."

Proceeding onwards with weapons raised, Jack and Silver were startled as the side of Beacon Tower broke open, and Professor Ozpin and one of the visiting students in the red dress rushed out, duelling cane-to-obsidian-sword.

The students watched, dumbfounded, for a few crucial moments, before Jack rushed forwards and Silver started another barrage. As Ozpin fell to the ground, Jack clashed with the student, but she was clearly ahead of his skill, parrying each attack with little to no effort used. Jack fought to keep up as he was suddenly on the defensive, fighting to keep the student from running him through. Silver stopped her barrage, and moved around to get a better angle on the target. Jack blocked stroke after stroke, panting, before locking blades a good arm's length from Jack.

"It appears, young Hunter, that you still have much to learn," the student said, a cruel smile coming onto her face. "You're a knight in shining armour... all flash and no fight... one who has never had his mettle tested."

"Well..." Jack said, straining to keep his sword from slipping, "Maybe... that test... is _today_!"

Jack tried to push the student back at this point, but she had the upper ground, so Jack did naught but floor himself. The duellist reared her hand back to strike, and the blade flashed towards Jack...

And then there was the sound of a sword rending flesh.

Silver nearly screamed, her hand over her mouth.

And Jack blinked. Professor Ozpin, always the knight, stumbled, the murderer's sword having gone straight through. As the demon in the red dress sneered and walked away, Jack lowered Ozpin's weak, wounded body to the ground, Silver giving up her chase to rush to the Headmaster's aid.

"Professor Ozpin, you shouldn't have done that!" Jack said, tears welling in his eyes.

"Nonsense, Mr Grayson... I am old, yet you're still young... you have a whole other life ahead of you..." He turned to Silver, smiling. "Ah... I see you've found romance in your sister's partner, Ms Pierce... Congratulations..."

"Professor!" Silver gasped, unable to believe her eyes.

"Do not worry, Ms Pierce... I'll be fine, and will find a peaceful spot to rest soon, but you must go, try to succeed where I have failed... Defeat the Fall Maiden... Cinder..." With those final words, Ozpin slumped into Jack's arms, and eventually faded from existence.

Jack and Silver had a hard time processing this.

"Whot."

"It's happened in a couple of science-fantasy movies I've seen, but never in real life. It looks like the old magician had a few tricks up his sleeve after all..."

Jack and Silver said no more, taking Ozpin's cane from where he'd dropped it and running forwards, towards the sounds of fighting.

* * *

Leara and Marinza ran towards Beacon Cliff, the former cursing Silver for splitting the party, and the latter cursing herself for not foreseeing Silver splitting the party.

The two met a larger group of students coming from the direction of Amity Colosseum, and they ran to the courtyard, where a group of Paladins surrounded the group. BY, NR, ML and CFY hesitated, but Velvet smiled darkly and took a little blue construct from her belt box. She destroyed multiple Paladins as the construct transformed into others' weapons, and the others were left dumbfounded before finding their senses and continuing to fight. Nobody noticed, though, as Yang slinked off, intent on finding the Big Bad.

Once the mechs were destroyed, Marinza was clearing rubber insulator from the Dragonfury Gauntlets, and Leara was reloading her rifle's clip, Blake noticed her lack of partner and rushed off to find her. Leara and Marinza, noticing this, ran after the Faunus, hoping to at least give her a few allies.

* * *

Silver ran across Yang as she ran, bumping into her.

"Yang! What're ye doing?"

"Trying to find the Big Bad. What else?"

"Arright, me and Jack can-" Silver then noticed her lack of partner. "Ohmdarnit! Looks like it's just us blondes, then."

"Well, that's good then. It's better than nobody."

They started running, heading towards the cafeteria.

* * *

Jack noticed his lack of partner in the courtyard, where he promptly got turned around and instead found Ruby and Weiss.

"Ruby! Weiss! You got any idea what's going on here?"

"None at all, but we need to stop Pyrrha from doing something dangerous and stupid!" Ruby said.

"Where?"

"Up there..." Weiss pointed to the top of Beacon Tower (Or rather, what was left of it) and Jack sighted down his spyglass, spotting the champion and the Maiden (Cinder, he supposed it was) at the top.

Weiss created a row of glyphs up the tower, then motioned to Ruby.

"You're the speedster, so I trust you know what to do?"

Ruby merely looked worried. "Send Jack, he's faster."

Jack didn't even wait for Weiss' response as he folded his spyglass. He quickly ReSemblanced Ruby, running around in a circle for a bit, before sensing a sonic boom and darting towards Beacon Tower.

The world passed by in slow motion as Jack felt the air around him start to heat up. He reached the tower, starting up the wall, as he felt his hair catch fire. Reaching the top, he saw Cinder and Pyrrha stand close to each other, Cinder looking ready for a killing blow, before casting his sixth sense back to the bottom of the tower. Sensing Weiss he ReSemblanced her now, using a single Glyph to deflect his momentum straight at Cinder. He'd only just thought over the physics of his actions when he connected, sending himself and Cinder sprawling across the tower, leaving Pyrrha on the ground with an arrow through her Achilles tendon.

"I won't let you kill another soul," Jack said, raising his sword in a clear challenge to duel. Cinder got onto her feet, forming her obsidian shards into a sword, and made the first stroke, expecting the duel to be over in a few swipes. However, it didn't end exactly as Cinder expected. All of a sudden, she felt like she couldn't breathe, and stepped back from Jack, using her sword to support her.

"Funny thing, that," Jack said, the words just barely reaching Cinder's ears, "Blood contains iron. It's magnetic." Cinder heard another voice sound, the girl's this time, and Jack stopped. Cinder gasped for air, and lashed out at Jack with the fury of an autumn thunderstorm.

Jack saw the lightning coming, and planted his sword in the tower, providing a ground for the electricity. Once Cinder realized the absence of screaming and pain was not simply death, she stemmed the flow of power, looking down at the boy. He got up, retrieving his sword, and putting away a device that was like a Scroll, but not. Jack smiled, and raised his sword.

"En garde," he said.

* * *

Marinza cursed Terminus as she broke from her group, reloading the Dragonfury Gauntlets, and rushing to Beacon Tower's stairwell. As she deployed the talons and started to scale the elevator shaft, she grunted a vow of revenge to her younger self and her lack of upper body exercise.

She flapped her wings to boost herself up as she reached the top, soaring into the sky above a swordfight between Jack and some chick in a red dress. She gawked at the obsidian constituting the blade, but readied her talons nonetheless, smirking at the woman, while Jack ducked out of Cinder's line-of-sight and started dragging a wounded Pyrrha to relative safety (As in, behind a rock).

Cinder and Marinza crossed blades for a couple seconds, in which Marinza came closer to landing a hit than Jack ever did (and actually did hit Cinder a few times). Cinder was apparently taken by surprise and had to restrategize, because the use of the Fall Season against Marinza was not only something that Jack saw coming, but that he actively worked to avoid. Sliding in on his knees, Jack once again drove the Mark II into the tower and grounded the lightning coming for Marinza. Marinza saw this, nodded to Jack gratefully, and switched to the Dragonfury Gauntlets' machineguns. After blasting away at Cinder's aura, Marinza switched back to the talons and leapt at Cinder, only to be caught with a blast of fire.

Jack retrieved his sword to get out of the way, but otherwise could do nothing to stop Cinder from using what appeared to be her Semblance. He worried for Marinza, but did nothing.

Marinza, on the other hand, took the fire in stride (she _was_ a dragon, after all), and used Cinder's lack of guard to get one solid hit in. Cinder flinched from the hit, having expected painful death, and took one single step closer to the edge. Jack and Marinza switched places one more, and Jack drew the Mark II, rushing into Cinder's guard before she could defend herself. Holding the blade to her neck, Jack's face darkened as Marinza carried Pyrrha down the elevator shaft. Jack pushed Cinder back further, until she was standing at the edge of the tower.

"If this isn't enough persuasion for you," Jack said, "I don't know what is. But let me be clear on this: You will not, I repeat, _will not_ , harm another living soul. Should you disregard this wise advice for keeping your sanity together, I _will_ find you. And I will _not_ be so merciful as now."

Leaving Cinder to ponder his words, Jack ducked down the elevator shaft, doing some acrobatic feats to parkour out of the elevator shaft. He met Marinza at the bottom, and together they blitzed out of Beacon, mowing down whatever Grimm they ran across.

* * *

RWBY and SL ran towards Beacon Tower, fearing for their friends' lives. They had to backtrack a bit, though, when MJ ran straight past them, towards a field hospital by Vale.

Once RWBY, JNR and MJSL had gotten Pyrrha to medical care, they had relaxed, letting endorphins do their job. Silver and Yang were laughing about some huge fight they had against one of the Big Bads of the siege, Adam Taurus, and Leara was chastising Blake for going off on her own ("You don't split the party!"). Marinza was telling Ruby about the obsidian sword she saw, and JNR was watching over Pyrrha, relieved that she was alive. Jack, however, contemplated how he'd acted in the fight, relaying to Weiss how he'd acted, how he felt about that, and the fate of Headmaster Ozpin.

"It was... monstrous," Jack said. "I fought dirty, Weiss. _I magnetized Cinder's blood so she couldn't breathe_."

"It was simply a last-ditch effort, I'm sure," Weiss said.

"Except, it _wasn't_. I resorted to that trick right off the bat. I nearly kept it still, which would put her life in danger... Only Pyrrha's quoting of Christopher Dawson brought me back... I'm a monster, Weiss."

"' _As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy.'_ I'm familiar with that one."

"And it nearly applied, Weiss. _It nearly applied_."

"You're not a monster, Jack. The fact that you showed restraint from killing a murderer means you retain empathy. It shows that, despite your previous actions, you're still human."

Jack took a deep breath after Weiss finished. "Even so, I'm not fit to remain with others who are good, always fighting with some sort of moral code. I'll be leaving at dawn." Jack collected the Mark II and left the tent, trusting Pyrrha to her team. Marinza, breaking from her story to Ruby, followed Jack out.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the Starclimber, one last time. I'll put the last few repairs in place, and then I'll leave at dawn."

"Why?"

Jack stopped. "Because I don't feel I deserve the way you treat me. Not after that fight with Cinder."

"That chick in the red dress?"

"Yes."

Marinza's face fell, and she stood behind as Jack ventured on into the darkness, using his phone as a flashlight.

* * *

As the first few rays of light dawned on a new day, Jack put away the welding torch and started up the Starclimber. The ion engines made their usual scream, and then Jack looked one last time at the ruins of Beacon through the cockpit window.

"Looks majestic from this angle, doesn't it?" a voice said from his shoulder, making Jack jump from fright, turning around.

"Aye," Silver said, replying to Marinza's question, "It's like that old Mussorgsky piece... what was it? The Ruined Palace?"

"The Old Castle," Jack corrected, turning the girls' attention to him.

"He speaks!" Marinza said, hugging Jack.

"An' here I was, thinking tha' he'd ditch me," Silver said.

"Well, evidently not, sister-in-law."

Silver chuckled at Marinza's new title for her, and looked up at Jack. "You didn't think you could pop off without me knowing, did you?"

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Silver's passionate kiss, and so taken by surprise. When Silver broke off, she smiled.

"Just run, you clever boy, and remember me."

Jack laughed, his heart heavy. "Did you teach her that, Marin?"

"You bet I did!"

Silver sighed, hugging Jack. "Take care of Marinza for me, will you?"

"I thought she was staying with you..."

Jack and Silver both opened their eyes, looking to Marinza. "You can stay if you want, Marin."

Marinza looked pensive for a second, then jumped for joy. "Yay!"

Silver laughed. "I guess that means we have to meet again someday, eh?"

Jack smiled. "I guess so."

Three minutes, two goodbyes, and one last kiss later, Jack waved goodbye from the cockpit of the Starclimber, before the ship dematerialized, leaving Remnant in the hands of a dragon Faunus and a Scot.

"... I'm Mistralian! Honestly, how have you _not_ gotten that into yer head yet?!"

* * *

Oio boios! DetectiveSky612 here!

And thus, _Making A Sword_ is finally OVER! I can finally focus on finishing Dimension Travellers!

Jack: Thank _God._ I need a break from all this main-character-ing...

Shut up.

Anyway, be sure to leave a like and subscribe to my pen name! This may be the end of Jack's tenure in Remnant, but it sure as hell isn't the end of his story! Be sure to read Dimension Travellers for a what-happened-next!


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